Exploding torpedoes



Unire-n STATES PATENT. Prien'. i

l* ExPLonnvG T oaPEDoes," Musesac.

5 Speciication forming part of Letters Patent No. 410,362, dated October20, 163.

.To all 'whom t may concern: v

Be it known that I, SWEN EsKILL SAN` BORN, of the city and'county ot'.Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and[improved Apparatus for Explodingl Torpedoes, Mines, &c. and 1 do.hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the saine, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification, in whiche Figure 1represents; a plan or face view of my invention, the cover having beenremoved to ,expose the dial andl index hand for adjusting the time ofthe explosion. Fig-2 is a vertical central section ot' the case andinterior frame-work. Fig. 3 is a plan or top view vot the, mechanism foradjusting'l the time of the explosion. Fig. 4is a plan of the clockfmovement and mechanism for settingand releasing the hammer. l

Similar letters ot' reference in the several gures indicatecorresponding parts.

The object of this invention is to arrangega 11 hammer, needle, or otherequivalent device capable ot' producing by its action on apercussion-cap, or in an y other way, the explosion of a charge ofguupowden or other otherv explosive substance or material, in suchrelation to a c1ock-movement,.0r other equivalent mechanism, thatthetime when the explosion will take Aplace can be adjusted, and that atorpedo, mine, magazine, or any other charge of gunpowder or otherexplosive material, can be exploded in one, two, or more hours, orminutes or seconds, orat any other momentl whicht may be previouslydetermined.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, l willproceedy to describe it. l l

The case F, which incloses the mechanism for exploding the charge, ismade of sheetcop per, or any other suitable material, and it isVprovided with double walls, which inclose an annular space, G, tocontain a quantity ot1 gunpowder or other explosive material. Theinterior of the case is occupied by three'circular plates or disks, C DE,- which are supported and held apart by stndsfeaibc, as clearly shownin Fig. 2 of the drawings.,

- H is a small gun or cannons barrel, secured l to one of the studs11g-between the plates D E.

Its muzzle extendsthrugh 'the `innerwall ot' the space Finto theannnlarspaceti, and its breech is provided with a nipple, d, to'` receive anordinary percussion-cap. he explosion of this cap is effected-by theaction of a hammer, I, which is 'secured Vto a pi`vot, e, having itsbearin gs in the plates D and E. Thispivot is subjected to the action ofa coiled spring, which has a tendency to throw the hammer forward to theposition shown in red outlines in Fig. 4, and it (the pivot) is madesquare at its end to receive a suitable key for the purpose of turningthe hammerbackto the position 4shown in blaclroutline in the same'iigure. When the hammer is cocked, it is retained by a 'trigger, K,which catches over a shoulder, f,on the periphery of a disk, J, that isrigidly secured to the oscillating pivot e.L By raising the' trigger Kthe disk J, and with it the hammer I, are released, and by the action'of the coiled sprin`g on the pivot c said hammer nipple d, therebycausing to explode a percussioncap von the same, and also the charge ofthe gun-barrel and of the annular space Gr. The trigger israisedautomatically by the action of a cam, Y, on arbor s, and the timewhen this takes place is regulated and determined by an ordinaryclock-movement, consisting essentially of a balance-wheel, L, escapementM,-escapementWheeLN, with its pinion g, which communicates 'with aspring wheel, O, by the intermediate gear-wheels, P Q R, and pinions ht' j, in the ordinary manner. The wheel O is provided with ythe usualratchet-wheel, k, and pawl l, and its arbor v'm is squared to receive akey. for the purpose-of winding up the spring. bears the wheel R andpinion j, isplaced in the center of the case, and extends through the'plates Dand C, and that portion of the same which is situated betweensaid plates bears a pinion, n, '(see Fig. 3,) which imparts motion tothe train ot' gear-wheels S o T, also situated between the plates D C.The cogwheel T is provided with a sleevefjournaiiitting loosely on thearbor m', and its hub car- The arbor m', whicii" but it is obvious thatthe time can be changed to any desired extent.

In order to release the hammer I automatically at the desired moment, a.lever, YV, Figi.1 3, is attached to a fnlcrurn-pin, g, and made to bearwith its end on the periphery of the disk V by the action of a springe,in such a manner that when the notch pin the disk V comes opposite theend ot' said lever it (the end) drops down into the notch and a partialrevolution is imparted to the pin q. This pin aso carries an arm, r,between the pla-tes D and E, and when vthe lever \V bears on theperiphery of the disk V, said arm, by coming '1n contact with the pin(l, forms a. stop for the disk A and pinion t; buL it` the lever W dropsvinto'the'noteh p the arm i: clears the pin u, and the disk 'A' andpinion tare at liberty Ato rotate. The pinion t gears into a eogwheel Z,on the arbor s, which also carries the cam Y, and this arbor issubjected to the action ot* a coiled spring', which, when wound up, willcause the sameto rotate in t-he direction ot' the arrow marked near itinFig'. 4.` ln winding,r up ihis spring' the arbor s has to be turned inthe direction opposite to said arrow, and the cam Y will coinein theposition shown in-redioull'ines in Fig. 4. In this position it isarrestedv by turning't-he index-hand andv dish V so asto 'throw thepoint of the lever W on theA periph` ery of said disk, and-the arm c inthe way ot' the pin u. It' the clock-inovjementis now started, the diskV will revolve in the direction ot' the arrow marked lon it in Fig. 3,and atter a certain lapse of time the point of the lever W drops downinto the notch p, the arm v liberates-tire pin u, the arbor s .rotatesin the direction etf thearrow marked near it in Fignet, and. by theaction of the cam Y lon the trigger 1c the hammer I is released and thecharge exploded. l

,"fIt is obvious that'the lei-:gthoi' theinterval I between. the time ofstarting the clock and the explosion depends entirely upon thev lengthof the are over which the end ot the lever Vlies to travel until itreaches the notch p,'ai1d consequently b v turning the index-hand moreor less the ti me of the explosion can be regulated. y A stop, a',serves to arrest and to start the clock-movement at' any desiredt'i frevolvingfstop, w, prevents the arbor .strom rotating any-further thannecessaryto liber. ate the hammer I.

This apparatus is particularlintendedibr the purpose otexplodingtorpedoes or mines,

` hutit can also bel used with advantag on board ot' a vessel if itbecomes necessar 'o abandon itfdurmg an engagement or other?L wise, byplacing,r the saine in the magazine with perfectaccuracy.

2. The notched dislrV, lever W, arm c, stop u, cam Y, trigger K, andhammer I, in combination with a cloclrmovement .-,constructed andoperating in the manner and for l the purpose substantially as setforth.

3.I The 'application ot' the notched disk V to the index hand U,movingon the dial plate @,substantially as and t'or the purposespeciltie l S. E.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM H. WEBER, L

F. W. LEWIS.

SANBORN.

-anclav

